Connectable pods

ABSTRACT

A connectable pod or container useful for interconnecting with other similar containers in a horizontal interlocked configuration. The container has a bottom wall having a top surface and a bottom surface, and a vertical region having a plurality of side walls attached to the bottom wall to form a volume space. The plurality of side walls each has an outside surface, an inside surface, and a tongue extending substantially perpendicular from the outside surface of at least one of the plurality of side walls. The container also has a groove for receiving the tongue of a similar adjoining container in dovetail fashion. The groove is sized and shaped complementary to fit the tongue within the groove.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/714,935, filed Aug. 6, 2018.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

None.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX

None.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates to kitchenware, and more specifically, to connectable pods or containers that form a larger plate system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Connectable containers have been used to make storage systems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,925 to Petruzzi discloses an interlocking stackable container storage system that has a tapered tongue on a lid top, arranged for positioning with a tapered grove of a similar container bottom wall for vertically stacking a selected quantity of containers in an interlocking arrangement.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,303 to Maccise discloses a portable modular food container that has exchangeable units useful for preservation and transportation of food stuffs.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,955 to Saravis discloses a snap together modular storage rack with alignment guides.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,718,924 discloses a multiple-compartment insulated food tray that allows for two or more stacked trays to be mechanically unified using the weight of the top tray on the bottom tray.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,011 to Fisher discloses a stackable container system having a plurality of individual containers wherein each container is snapped onto, and securely fastened to another similarly configured container.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,114 to Kleinfeld discloses a container and removable cover for receiving and positioning small articles. There are slots on the back wall and means on the front of the cover for resiliently holding the cover closed when it is rotated about the tangs and slot as a hinge.

Still, there remains a continuing need for containers and container systems that allow a user to quickly assemble and disassemble multiple food stuff containers together, where the containers can compartmentalize food into various distinct areas of a container system.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention solves the problem of a multiple containers not being able to be efficiently be connected and disconnected from each other in a compartmentalized plate system, useful as a system for feeding infants, toddlers, preschoolers, adolescents, and even adults for portion control. The containers of the system have side interlocking components that loosely interconnect the individual containers to create a plate system. The interlocking components allow the containers to slide past one another for easy locking and separation. By connecting smaller containers together, a large plate system can be formed, which allows for multiple separate food compartments in the overall connected system, and is especially advantageous in that food placed in separate containers does not touch each other. The present invention also is an easy way to save leftovers, and each container can be sealed with provided removable lids and stored in a refrigerator or pantry, stacked on top of each other, or kept in the interlocked configuration. Further advantages include being able to take the containers for snacks on the go, and when the user arrives at their destination, the containers can be interconnected to form a full plate of food. The containers can also stack easily in a lunch box, and a child will have fun constructing the plate system at school.

In one embodiment there is a connectable pod, or container, that is useful for useful for interconnecting with other similar containers in a horizontal interlocked configuration. The container has a bottom wall having a top surface and a bottom surface. The container also has a vertical region having a plurality of side walls attached to the bottom wall to form a volume space, the plurality of side walls each having an outside surface and an inside surface. The container includes a tongue extending substantially perpendicular from the outside surface of at least one of the plurality of side walls, and a groove for receiving the tongue of a similar adjoining container in dovetail fashion. The groove is sized and shaped complementary to fit the tongue within the groove.

Another embodiment is for a system that includes more than one containers having the features described above, and in the detailed description of the embodiments, such that more than one container interlocks with a similar container.

Yet embodiment is for a method of connecting more than one container as described above, and in the detailed description of the embodiments, by interconnecting a first container with a second container. The method includes sliding the tongue of the first container within the grove of the second container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of one connectable pod;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of one connectable pod;

FIG. 3 is a top view of one connectable pod;

FIG. 4 is a side plan view of two connectable pods interlocked with each other;

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of four connectable pods interlocked with each other.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may however be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may be present therebetween. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, and/or section from another element, component, region, layer, and/or section.

It will be understood that the elements, components, regions, layers and sections depicted in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” or “includes” and/or “including” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Furthermore, relative terms, such as “lower” or “bottom,” “upper” or “top,” “left” or “right,” “above” or “below,” “front” or “rear,” may be used herein to describe one element's relationship to another element as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described herein with reference to idealized embodiments of the present invention. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, embodiments of the present invention should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. The invention illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any elements that are not specifically disclosed herein.

Turning to the Figures, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate one connectable pod or container 100 in a top perspective and bottom perspective view, respectively. The container 100 has a bottom wall 10. The wall has a top surface 12 and a bottom surface 14. The container 100 has a vertical region 16 having a plurality of side walls 18, each having an outside surface 20 and an inside surface 22. The side walls 18 and bottom wall 10 form a volume space 36. A tongue 24 extends substantially perpendicular from the outside surface 20 of at least one of the plurality of side walls 18. The container 100 has a grove 26 for receiving the tongue 24 of a similar adjoining container in a dovetail fashion. The groove 26 is sized and shaped to complementary to fit the tongue of another container.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-5 each of the containers 100 has four side walls 18, but one can envision any number of side walls, such as three, five, six, or more. Each of the containers 100 as shown has two tongues 24 and two grooves 26. The tongues 24 and groves 26 are on opposing sides of the container 100 such that the tongues 24 are positioned opposite each other on two side walls, and the groves 26 are on the opposing side walls adjacent to the side walls where the tongues 24 project. The containers 100 may have removable lids 28 to cover foods placed in the containers 100.

The containers 100 can be made from any number of materials known in the art, such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), stone, metal, ceramic, glass or other materials. Preferably, the material is safe for microwave ovens. The containers 100 may be made of separate pieces, or may be made of one continuous piece of material produced by injection molding, blow molding, or other type of molding. As shown in FIGS. 1-5, the side walls 18 of the containers 100 are made in a curved fashion such that the side walls 18 curve into each other, and also curve into the bottom wall 10, forming a boundary that creates a concave volume space 36, but it can be envisioned that the containers 100 have hard edges that form the boundaries of the bottom wall 10 and side walls 18.

As illustrated most explicitly in FIG. 4, the tongue 24 is generally T-shaped and the groove 26 is a hollow space, forming an elongated slot, so that the tongue 24 can slide into the groove 26. These features allow two containers 200 to connect together. It can be envisioned that the shape can be triangular, rectangular, cylindrical, pentagonal, hexagonal, and pyramidal to accomplish the same goal. Regardless of the specific shape, the complementary shape of the tongue 24 and groove 26 allows the tongue 24 to slide in and out of the grove 26 along a first axis, but prevents the tongue 24 from being pulled away from the grove 26 along a second axis. What prevents the tongue 24 from being pulled away along the second axis is a narrow neck region 32 on the tongue 24 and a terminating tongue edge region 34 wider than the narrow neck region 32. The groove 26 is formed from parallel or substantially parallel projections 30 a, 30 b ending from at least one of the plurality of side walls. In the embodiments shown, there is a top projection 30 a and a bottom projection 30 b that have ends angled toward each other so that the grove 26 has a wide region, and a narrow region, thereby making it capable of holding the tongue 24 that has a narrow region 32 and a wider edge 34. One can envision that the groove 26 may also be a recess (not shown) within the side wall 18, such that a projection is not necessary, but still capable of receiving the tongue 24.

As shown illustrated in FIG. 4, there is a system 200 of two containers, and in FIG. 5 there is a system of four containers interlocked together. Additional containers may be added or removed to create a system of containers 100 that have any number of containers.

The size and dimensions of the container can be any of number sizes. In one embodiment, the container has a height of about 2.5 cm, a length of about 9.5 cm, and a width of about 9.5 cm. The width of the tongue 24 has a length of about 3.5 cm, a height of about 1 cm and a width of about 1 cm. The grove 26 has a length of about 3.5 cm and a height from the top of the top parallel projection 30 a to the bottom of the bottom parallel projection 30 b of about 1.8 cm. Wide variations of these specifications can exist from 10%, 25%, 50%, 100%, 200%, 500% or more to create containers of different sizes that still interlock in the same manner.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

-   -   10 Bottom wall     -   12 Top surface of bottom wall     -   14 Bottom surface of bottom wall     -   16 Vertical region     -   18 Side wall (plurality of side walls)     -   20 Outside surface of side wall     -   22 Inside surface of side wall     -   24 Tongue     -   26 Groove     -   28 Removable lid     -   30 a Parallel projection (top)     -   30 b Parallel projection (bottom)     -   32 Narrow neck region of tongue     -   34 Terminating tongue edge     -   36 Volume space (of container)     -   100 Container (connectable pod)     -   200 Two containers system     -   300 Four container system

While the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the words that have been used are words of description and not of limitation. As is understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, a variety of modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the following claims, which should be given their fullest, fair scope. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A container useful for interconnecting with other similar containers in a horizontal interlocked configuration, the container comprising: a) a bottom wall having a top surface and a bottom surface; b) a vertical region having a plurality of side walls attached to the bottom wall to form a volume space, the plurality of side walls each having an outside surface and an inside surface; c) a tongue extending substantially perpendicular from the outside surface of at least one of the plurality of side walls; d) a groove for receiving the tongue of a similar adjoining container in dovetail fashion, wherein the groove is sized and shaped complementary to fit the tongue within the groove.
 2. The container of claim 1, wherein the plurality of side walls are four side walls.
 3. The container of claim 2, wherein the tongue is at least two tongues, each of the two tongues positioned on an opposing side wall of the four side walls.
 4. The container of claim 1, further comprising a removable lid sized and shaped to enclose the volume space.
 5. The container of claim 1, wherein the bottom wall and plurality of side walls are formed from one continuous piece of material.
 6. The container of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of side walls are connected to each other in curved fashion, and each of the plurality of side walls are connected to the bottom wall in a curved fashion.
 7. The container of claim 1, wherein the groove is a hollow space formed between two parallel projections extending from at least one of the plurality of side walls.
 8. The container of claim 1, wherein the groove is an elongated slot, and wherein the tongue is generally T-shaped, thereby allowing the tongue to slide in and out of the groove along a first axis, but preventing the tongue from being pulled away from the groove along a second axis.
 9. The container of claim 1, wherein the tongue has a narrow neck region and terminating in a tongue edge region wider than the narrow neck region.
 10. The container of claim 3, wherein the groove is at least two groves, each of the two grooves positioned on an opposing side wall of the four side walls.
 11. The container of claim 1, further comprising a removable lid sized and shaped to enclose the volume space; wherein the plurality of side walls are four side walls; wherein bottom wall and plurality of side walls are formed from one continuous piece of material; wherein each of the plurality of side walls are connected to each other in curved fashion, and each of the plurality of side walls are connected to the bottom wall in a curved fashion; wherein the groove is a hollow space formed between two parallel projections extending from at least one of the plurality of side walls; wherein the groove is an elongated slot, and wherein the tongue is generally T-shaped, thereby allowing the tongue to slide in and out of the groove along a first axis, but preventing the tongue from being pulled away from the groove along a second axis; wherein the tongue has a narrow neck region and terminating in a tongue edge region wider than the narrow neck region; and, wherein the groove is at least two groves, each of the two grooves positioned on an opposing side wall of the four side walls.
 12. A container system having a plurality of containers, each container comprising: a) a bottom wall having a top surface and a bottom surface; b) a vertical region having a plurality of side walls attached to the bottom wall to form a volume space, the plurality of side walls each having an outside surface and an inside surface; c) a tongue extending substantially perpendicular from the outside surface of at least one of the plurality of side walls; d) a groove for receiving the tongue of a similar adjoining container in dovetail fashion, wherein the groove is sized and shaped complementary to fit the tongue within the groove.
 13. The container system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of containers are two containers.
 14. The container system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of containers include at least four containers.
 15. A method of connecting containers comprising the step of interconnecting a first container with a second container, wherein each of the first container and second container comprise: a) a bottom wall having a top surface and a bottom surface; b) a vertical region having a plurality of side walls attached to the bottom wall to form a volume space, the plurality of side walls each having an outside surface and an inside surface; c) a tongue extending substantially perpendicular from the outside surface of at least one of the plurality of side walls; d) a groove for receiving the tongue of a similar adjoining container in dovetail fashion, wherein the groove is sized and shaped complementary to fit the tongue within the groove.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein interconnecting the first container with the second container is sliding the tongue of the first container within the grove of the second container. 